Labor market distortions are common within the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA/Obamacare). Employers are faced with uncertainty at every turn. As observed from the recently released Federal Reserve beige book, this uncertainty restrains hiring.[1] While substantial attention has been given to the employer side, the employee side also experiences many…

In its opinion on the Obamacare case, the Supreme Court found Congress exceeded its Constitutional authority by conditioning existing Medicaid funding on state adoption of the Medicaid expansion in Obamacare. The ruling effectively made the expansion optional. Supporters of Obamacare, as well as some health care stakeholders—particularly hospitals and clinics—have…

Under the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), states may choose to expand their Medicaid populations to include individuals below 138 percent of the federal poverty level, with the federal government picking up 100 percent of payments for the first three years and then rolling back federal payments. This structure is designed to be attractive to the…

Advocates of Obamacare claim that it is insuring more people under the age of 26, an accomplishment for which they are quite proud. Just this week, a report from the Department of Health and Human Services cites even greater success.[1] However, recent research shows that even with this provision, there are important, unrealized distortions and costs to the health care…